Man In Chase That Killed K-9 Out Of Hospital, In Jail
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Jackie Gorski-jgorski@timesuniononline.com
COLUMBIA CITY – A Fort Wayne man was taken into custody Thursday after a multi-county chase Wednesday that turned fatal for a police K9.
Clarence Shearer, 31, Fort Wayne, was taken into custody after being released from Parkview Hospital in Columbia City.
Shearer will face charges related to the multi-county police pursuit and subsequent crash that took the life of Whitley County Sheriff’s Department patrol K9 Cas at the conclusion of the investigation, a news release from the Indiana State Police said. Shearer was booked into the Allen County Jail Thursday on several active warrants out of Allen County.
A passenger in the Chrysler, who got out of the vehicle before the crash, was arrested by the Plymouth Police Department and is in the Marshall County Jail, according to ISP. The passenger was not identified in the release.
About 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Plymouth Police Department put out a dispatch of an armed carjacking of a black 2016 Chrysler that occurred near the LifePlex gym near U.S. 30 and Pioneer Drive, according to ISP. An Indiana State trooper then saw the vehicle going eastbound on U.S. 30 near Fox Farm Road, Warsaw.
A high-risk stop was attempted near Meijer Drive on U.S. 30 in Kosciusko County when other police officers arrived for help. The Chrysler pulled to the side of the road, stopped and the passenger got out of the Chrysler, but Shearer sped off, continuing east on U.S. 30.
Shearer was chased by officers from several police department,s which entered Whitley County.
Deputy Gary Archbold, a Whitley County deputy, positioned his car, a 2019 Dodge Charger, in the intersection of U.S. 30 and CR 450W and set up stop sticks in an attempt to stop Shearer from fleeing. Shearer attempted to avoid the stop sticks and collided broadside with the Whitley County vehicle in the passenger side. The collision caused the Charger to go into westbound lanes of U.S. 30 and burst into flames.
Officers were unable to get Cas out of the Charger and Cas died on scene. Archbold was unharmed.
According to a news release from Smith and Sons Funeral Home, Archbold and the handler for Cas were not in the Charger at the time of the fire.
Shearer was apprehended at the scene and taken to a hospital for treatment, according to a Whitley County Sheriff’s Department news release.
Whitley County Sheriff’s Department will bury Cas Wednesday, according to news releases from Whitley County Sheriff’s Department and Smith and Sons Funeral Home.
A memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the First Church of God, 1200 W. Depoy Drive, Columbia City.
A funeral procession will follow the service, going south on Lincolnway to Van Buren Street, east to Chauncey Street, east on Market Street then onto Greenhill Cemetery for a Committal Service with full honors, according to the news release from the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Whitley County Sheriff’s K9 Fund.
